Father Frost

Today was one of those days the reminds me that I'm in the right place doing the right thing.  It is really hard to make this trip and be so far away from my family back in Frederick.  However, God has put me in this position and provided me the resources to do what we did today. 

The day started off just like most other days here in Belarus.....with snow, snow and more snow.  I can probably count the number of minutes it hasn't snowed since my arrival. 

We had three goals for today, the first was to pick up Olya and bring her back to Mogilev where she will be with Krystina and I until I leave.  The second was to bring bags of candy to ABRO children from their host families back in the USA (I was responsible for taking pictures of the children with the candy so that ABRO can send it to the host family).  The third and most impactful was to go shopping for food for four families in Olya's village (I can't pronounce the name of the village and I certainly can't spell it).  We would provide each family with a New Years feast that will probably last them more than a week.  In addition to providing the food I took pictures of children that really need the help of the ABRO program and would like to try to find host families for this summer. 

I left the ARK house and picked up Joe, Frank and Vadim.  The first stop was the bank to change some American money into Belarussian rubles.  Next was the grocery store, which was about 1/10 the size of a typical American grocery store.  We bought hams, sausage string, bread, cheese, bananas, oranges and candy for each of the four families we will be visiting.  The total bill came to about 200,000 rubles, which is approximately $65 dollars. 

Once we were loaded up with our supplies we piled into Sasha's van for the 45 minute drive on snow covered roads.  With us on the trip was Lena who works in the ABRO office, I've always referred to her as ABRO Lena.  ABRO Lena is somewhat of a miracle worker, she helps identify the children that need the most help and tries to find American families for these children, in addition to that she helps plan the summer program and arranges my schedule while I'm in Belarus.  She does a fantastic job and is always extremely helpful.  Also with us was Bobbie who looks a lot like Santa Claus, Leah a young girl from Louisiana and of course Frank, Joe and Vadim. 

When we arrived in the village it was snowing even harder than it was in the city.  The village streets bordered on undrivable.  We almost got stuck a couple of times, but Sasha was able to keep us on the road.  At least I think it was a road, there really was no way to tell.

One of the first stops was Olya's house.  She lives in a small house with her dad, step mom and two step sisters.  They would like to find a host family for Olya's step sister, Katia who is 8 years old.   If she is half as sweet at Olya she would be wonderful to host.  I briefly spoke with her dad and step mom, we didn't have much time as Lena was trying to keep us on a tight schedule.  We still have 4 or 5 other families to visit. 

As we pulled up to our next stop, Lena would explain a little about the family and why they were living is such difficult conditions.  Single parents, alcoholism, the parents were orphans and had no opportunity were recurring themes.  All of these people live in extreme poverty, in extreme cold and it's usually the children that suffer the most.  The houses may have looked different on the outside, but they were essentially the same on the inside.  A wood burning stove that was used for cooking and heating the house, no running water and exposed electrical wiring that looks like it was done 75 years ago by someone who knew nothing about electricity.  Most of the houses looked dangerous and could burn down at any moment. 

As we walked up to the first house, Lena asked me if I would play the part of Father Frost and give the family the bag of food we brought.  Father Frost is a mythical character in Belarus and Russia, he is much like Santa Claus and usually has his daughter the Ice Princess with him.  Krystina would be my Ice Princess for the day.  I delivered the bag of goodies to two of the families.  You could tell that they were not used to receiving help and they were at a loss for words at the sight of us.  Imagine a group of 5 adults speaking a different language walking into your house and handing you a big bag of food.  I'm sure it was a strange sight to them, but you can see the gratitude on their faces.  Bobbie played the part of Father Frost for the third house.  He was a natural for the position based on his looks alone.  Then Frank joined in and was the mythical character for the last family.  He seemed to enjoy the role. 

I wish that everyone could visit a place like this just once in their lives and experience what we experienced today.  I think it would help put things into the proper perspective and this world would be a better place for it. 

As the week goes on and I have more experiences like today it will wear on me both physically and emotionally.  I'm praying for the strength I will need to get me through the next week.  Our remaining agenda is going to be both rewarding and difficult.

I just found out a little while ago that Olya, Krystina and I will be spending New Years with my old friends Svetlana and Gena.  They are the parents of the chaperone (also named Lena) who helped our ABRO group in Raleigh for many years.  Lena is married and lives in the U.S. with her husband and daughter.  This family has always been very kind to me and helped me whenever I visit Belarus. 

I will be celebrating New Years seven hours before you.....Happy New Year, I hope you all have a blessed 2011.